June 6, 2008

This is a mishmash of somewhat incoherent ramblings. Still I want to write them down so I don’t forget the various directions my thoughts are going.

Some years ago, I jotted a note that said, “Work should be a place where we nurture the best in each other.” Life should be, too. That’s my problem with work reviews. When you come out of one, you are so aware of what you aren’t doing “right” that you become somewhat immobilized. And I’m not sure we can correct those things if it goes against our very nature. The question becomes, should I quit that job or can we design my job so it uses my strengths and find someone else for the tasks that are my weaknesses? And, if we want to retain the strengths of an employee, how much can we change their job description to use them at their best?

Now, is it a paradox that my dream job would be helping to run an artists colony where artists of all kinds could find a supportive environment to hone their crafts. Working to be better involves some constructive help. How can we do that as a supportive measure and not as a negative force? As a teacher, I’m sure I sometimes misjudge what a student can handle. How much can I ask for more of them without destroying their confidence and ability to grow? I know that sometimes I get it wrong – either by asking too little or too much of them.

Every time we go to the high school to see performances, we come away sad because we feel the students are being cheated. But how can we help the faculty by contributing our strengths without being seen as a threat to the faculty? There are ways we could help without in the least diminishing their strengths that we don’t have. But it takes trust building, doesn’t it? How do we do that?

Ego is such a double-edged sword. We need some of it in order to bravely do anything. But, too much of it gets in the way of working together. Who was it that said so much could be accomplished if we didn’t worry about who was going to get “credit” for it?